Competency Profile of Social Work in Educational Institutions: An Empirically Derived Three-Factor Framework

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Education
• Psychology

Background:

• The professional role of social work in educational institutions requires clear definition.
• A gap exists between the recognized importance of school social work and a systematic understanding of its core competencies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To empirically define the competency profile of social work professionals in educational institutions.
• To identify and structure core competencies essential for social work within the educational system.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative descriptive-exploratory design.
• Data collected from 859 participants (students and graduates from Andalusian universities).
• Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) used to refine a 24-item questionnaire into a 15-competency framework.

Main Results:

• A validated factorial structure of 15 competencies was identified.
• Competencies are organized into three interrelated factors: work with teaching staff, focus on students, and orientation toward families.
• The proposed competency framework demonstrated satisfactory goodness-of-fit indicators.

Conclusions:

• The study provides an empirically grounded structure of competencies for social work in education.
• The findings contribute to clarifying the professional role and strengthening the alignment between training and practice.
• This evidence-based framework supports the disciplinary delimitation and institutional positioning of social work in educational contexts.